Another person in Turkey today tested positive for the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu, a health ministry official said.It brings the number of people to have contracted the disease in the country to 15.More than a dozen people have been admitted to hospitals across Turkey with flu-like symptoms, taking the number of patients under observation for the disease to over 70.At least two have died over the past week, according to the World Health Organisation. Authorities also detected bird flu in dead fowl near the Aegean port city of Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, CNN-Turk reported. The latest H5N1 victim was a patient being treated at a hospital in the central Anatolian city of Sivas.Gulsen Yesilirmak told CNN-Turk television from her hospital bed that she had fallen ill after throwing dead chickens out of a coop.... http://www.guardian.co.uk

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. told senators he would keep an ``open mind'' if the high court reconsidered whether the Constitution protects a right to abortion. Abortion was the first issue raised during questioning today of Alito, nominated to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who voted in 1992 to reaffirm the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states. Alito told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee his 1985 memo saying Roe was wrongly decided was a ``true expression of my views'' as a Justice Department lawyer. Even so, Alito said the high court's repeated reaffirming of the 1973 decision strengthened it as a legal precedent. ``I would approach the question with an open mind'' if the court decided to review the precedent, Alito told Specter. ...http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=anHniezpRFzc&refer=home

Iran's dispute with the UN and Western countries has deepened after Tehran resumed nuclear research. As Iran removed UN seals from equipment at Natanz facility, UN nuclear chief Mohammed ElBaradei said Tehran would start small-scale nuclear enrichment. The move was condemned by the US and European countries, which fear Iran is seeking to produce atomic bombs. Tehran denies the accusation, saying it wants to produce nuclear energy only. In a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Mr ElBaradei said that as well as breaking the international seals on its atomic research centre in Natanz, Iran will before Wednesday remove seals on two other connected sites. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4599552.stm

Parliament fired the Cabinet Tuesday because of a new deal with Russia that nearly doubled what Ukraine pays for natural gas. Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov and the justice minister, however, said the vote was non-binding and vowed that the current Cabinet would continue working. "People just wanted to play around, this will have no effect," Yekhanurov told reporters. "The Cabinet can be formed only after new elections on the basis of a parliamentary coalition, which must be formed by the parliament within a month after the election," Justice Minister Serhiy Holovaty said. ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-10-ukraine_x.htm?csp=34

The U.S. Supreme Court said a paraplegic Georgia prisoner can sue prison officials for not accommodating his needs, ruling unanimously in the first states- rights decision under new Chief Justice John Roberts. The justices said Georgia wasn't immune from the lawsuit, filed under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, because inmate Tony Goodman alleged violations of his constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said that factor distinguished Goodman's suit from previous cases in which the high court barred lawsuits seeking damages from states. ...http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aMQi18hiQ7oA&refer=home

Former President Bill Clinton surprised U.S. troops from Iraq when his refueling stop at the Bangor International Airport coincided with their arrival.His plans for a quick departure Monday night were delayed when a problem was discovered with the aircraft, allowing him to join a line of local greeters who meet each plane carrying troops returning from overseas or leaving for duty."Thank you for your service," Clinton said as he shook hands and hugged many of the troops. He autographed hats, cards and other items.Clinton had some fun when Army Spc. Joshua Ruschenberg used a cell phone provided by troop greeters to call to his sister-in-law, Shancy Garrison, in North Carolina. He handed over the phone to the former commander in chief....http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/10/clinton.troops.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us